Aloha and Mahalo

I recently spent eight glorious days in paradise AKA Hawaii with my spunky man. Despite my extensive travel to-do list; Hawaii did not rate a mention. This trip was my man's idea. He had visited there a couple of years ago for his sister's 40th birthday and loved it. He had a whole list of places he wanted to take me to. And I was not disappointed.

Hawaii and Oahu were amazing. I preferred Hawaii as I felt it was more authentic. Waikiki on Oahu was a bit Gold Coast-esq which does not appeal to me. I am an adventure holiday person. Too fidgety to spend hours lying on the beach sunning myself, I like to be active. I like to wake in the morning and go for a run. I like to see and do things, truly experience the local culture and explore the little out of the way towns rather than stick to the touristy locations.

Prior to our trip to Hawaii I was aware of aloha. Not one for languages, I am at least aware of the basics in many tongues. Aloha is a state of greeting - hello or goodbye. But, I learned that it is also a spirit of living; an expression of love, and, as such, it is to be said only with sincerity. Aloha is in everything. It is a life essence; a way of being for aloha encompasses the following

A is for AKAHAI, meaning kindness, to be expressed with a feeling of  tenderness.

L is for LÔKAHI, meaning unity, to be expressed with a feeling of harmony.

O is for `OLU`OLU, meaning agreeable, to be expressed with a feeling of  pleasantness.

H stands for HA`AHA`A, meaning humility, to be expressed with a feeling of modesty.

A stands for AHONUI, meaning patient, to be applied with perseverance. ~ Pîlahi Pâkî

Holidays are a time to rejuvenate. They are a time when you find peace and truth. Holidays are a mental and physical break from the mundane. A hiatus from work and chores, holidays give the opportunity to honestly reflect on life. The brain space sheds light onto things that need attention, giving focus to the importance of people and relationships. Where the insignificance of consumerism and ego fade.

I went to Hawaii feeling ill at ease. I could not pinpoint the cause but I knew that something was just not right. I found the source of the unbalance while snorkelling on a beach on the west coast of Hawaii and spent time in quiet reflection for the following three days until I found a way forward.

For the first time, the cause is not something I am willing to share in this space but I wanted to highlight how important the break from reality was in helping me navigate my way through the rockiness, the uncertainty and self-doubt. Ergo, I implore you all to travel as much as your bank balance will permit you to.

Like Mark Twain says - Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. 

Mahalo Hawaii, for providing me with relief, perspective and sense of balance.

Losing sight of the big picture

I find that life is so busy - kids, work, family, friends, housework, study, gym - that it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. Life drifts by and months go past without any progress towards the areas of life that you want to change. We are pulled along by the flow of daily life and all of a sudden another year has swept by.

For the first time in a long time, I have set real goals for my own life for 2015. As I have already mentioned, realising that we're half way there and I have made no progress on any of them is frightening me. Rather than be disappointed in myself (something I excel at), I am making a conscious effort to remain positive. To take the time now to refocus on my ambitions and reassess the situation. Circumstances have changed somewhat for me in the last six months and I am not where I had hoped to be. Nevertheless, it is important to focus ahead and aim high.

My children are happy and healthy. I am in love. I have at least started formal study which will hopefully put me on the right path for career progression and an inspiring professional life. And I have a wonderful Hawaiian holiday coming up at the end of the month which will get me away from the Antarctic winds that have been freezing me to the bone lately. 

There is still a lot of work to be done in the latter half of 2015 to ensure that I am in a better position entering into 2016 but I am on my way and I have reassessed my priorities to ensure success. Accepting there are things that are out of my control is a big part of ensuring that I maintain motivation and perspective in achieving my goals. I cannot help illness or injury. While they will affect my training and impose on my fitness goals, they are out of my control and therefore not worthy of my attention. I have instead chosen to focus on healthy eating and maintaining hydration to ensure that I give my body the best chance to fight off infection. I am trying to address my sleep issues so as to set myself up for optimal physical health.

I feel like my mental health is suffering of late so I have reprioritised to ensure that this gets the attention and time required to ensure that my stress levels are under control. While maintaining honesty, integrity and compassion, my focus is to get my head into the right space for repair and growth.

We may be six months into 2015 but there's still so much opportunity to achieve greatness this year. Up and at 'em!